Nadine’s a high flyer ..and crier
First wife tells of the moment she found out
CAITLYN Jenner wanted to be a woman 40 years before announcing it to the world, it is claimed as she makes her debut on I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! tonight.
First wife Chrystie Scott says she was told of the “fantasy” in their first year of marriage in 1972 – four years before then athlete Bruce scooped the men’s decathlon gold at the Montreal Olympics.
Chrystie, 69, who has son Burt, 41, and daughter Cassandra, 39, with the star, says her husband had seemed like a “boy next door” and she knew no different. She says: “I had no idea he felt that way when he confessed to me he wanted to be a girl.
“I was shocked. He was so masculine. It never occurred to me it might have caused him anxiety. There was no indication in any area of our marriage.
“He said it was a fantasy and he wasn’t going to act on his desire. I had never seen him dressing up in women’s clothes or anything like that.”
Surgery was not mentioned until years later, after the couple had split and Bruce had gone on to have sons Brody and Brandon with second wife Linda Thompson. Actress Linda, 69, said she did not know Bruce wanted to be a woman – though her mum had seen him posing with his genitals tucked in.
She said her mum told her: “I saw him preening and posing in front of the mirror. He just had his underwear on, and he took his genitals, and he tucked them behind, so that he was flat in the front.
“And then he was posing with his genitals tucked behind.”
In 1985 Bruce flew Chrystie along the California coast to tell her how he
felt. She says: “He told me he was planning to make the change. I cried for two days straight.
“I told him I felt like my husband was dead, and he laughed and said, ‘I’m still here. I’m not going anywhere.’”
It was 30 years later that Caitlyn, now 70, announced her decision to the world in 2015, the year she split from third wife Kris, mum of daughters Kendall, 24, and Kylie Jenner, 22.
Two years later she had one final gender reassignment operation as she wanted to have the “right parts” after becoming “tired of tucking”.
Chrystie believes Caitlyn’s glamorous style has been influenced by her years on US reality series Keeping Up With The Kardashians alongside Kris, 64, and her daughters Kourtney, 40, Kim, 39, Khloe, 35, and son Rob, 32. Chrystie told the Sunday Mirror: “I think his look is their look. It breaks my heart. He took inspiration from the girls’ glamorous style on the show. That was really sad.
“Bruce was my husband and Bruce was an athlete. When I first saw Caitlyn I couldn’t stop staring. It was a shock and still is. I prefer him male. Bruce was my hero – he was a great guy and he’s gone through so many changes, and I can’t say they’re good.” Chrystie from Ojai, California, met Bruce when they were studying at Graceland College in Lamoni, Iowa. She says: “He was very down to earth, like the boy next door.” Bruce did not even wash his hair on their wedding day, after getting covered in beer on his stag do. Now Chrystie thinks Caitlyn will thrive in the jungle – but woe betide campmates if the rations are low. Chrystie says: “Bruce loves adventure – rock climbing, jumping out of planes... He’s fearless. Caitlyn will be fine with the creepy-crawlies and the kangaroo penis. She’ll see the funny side of eating that. But when she gets hungry, she’ll get grumpy.” I’m A Celebrity, tonight ITV, 9pm